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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29292597">Like Falling Off A Bicycle</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_verano/pseuds/Oh_no_I_didnt'>Oh_no_I_didnt (t_verano)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Chinese Actor RPF, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A little bit cracky, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, First Meetings, M/M, Wang Yibo believes in falling in love at first sight we already know this</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:15:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,023</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29292597</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_verano/pseuds/Oh_no_I_didnt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A bicycle, a skateboard, and, well...Fate? (Of course not! That kind of thing doesn't happen! And even if it does, it doesn't happen to Xiao Zhan!)</p><p>In which Xiao Zhan loses his balance, in more ways than one.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Wang Yi Bo/Xiao Zhan | Sean</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>130</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Like Falling Off A Bicycle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is intended to be Just For Fun and also (despite being a little cracky) completely respectful to the actors.</p><p>(There are exclamation points! Because I felt like it! :-))</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>This is all Yu Bin's fault. </p><p>That uncharitable and not entirely accurate thought occupies Xiao Zhan's mind as his initial panic gives way to resigned acceptance of the inevitable. "You can do it, ZhanZhan," Yu Bin had said. "I have faith in you. Mind over matter."</p><p><i>Mind over matter, my ass, </i>Xiao Zhan thinks, as his bicycle gives a (very) final wobble and falls over. He's been thinking <i>Don't fall over! </i>as hard as he can for the past several moments, ever since the person on the skateboard swooped by and startled him, and it hasn't helped at all. </p><p><i>"Just try it, ZhanZhan, that's all I'm asking. Riding a bike is </i>fun. <i>And, uh...good for the environment. Yeah. You like the environment, right?" </i>Yu Bin is a blot upon society. </p><p>"'Be a responsible citizen,' he says. 'Come on, ZhanZhan, it's <i>easy,</i>' he says," Xiao Zhan mutters into the cement his cheek is currently smushed against. Yu Bin will <i>pay </i>for this. Just because he couldn't talk anybody else into filling out the last spot on his team for the company bike ride doesn't mean he should've come after Xiao Zhan. Yu Bin's worked with him long enough to know he's a klutz.</p><p>"Why weren't you more careful?" </p><p>It's less a question than a demand, and it comes out of nowhere while Xiao Zhan is communing with the sidewalk. Okay, not nowhere; it probably belongs to the pair of neon green Nikes approaching around the front wheel of the bicycle.</p><p>Bare calves, bony knees...are those bruises?...baggy shorts... Xiao Zhan squints against the angle of the sun and doesn't bother to look higher. That would mean moving his head, and moving his head would mean acknowledging the fact that he's lying on the sidewalk tangled up in his bicycle like a beached whale caught in a fishing net, and he'd just as soon wait a couple more minutes for that, thanks all the same.</p><p>There's an exasperated-sounding huff from the Demanding Voice person. A flattish oblong thing that's even more glaringly green than the Nikes edges into Xiao Zhan's field of view, dangling beside one of the bruised knees, and wait, that's a...</p><p>...a skateboard. Wonderful. Xiao Zhan groans and closes his eyes.</p><p>A moment later he feels the bicycle being lifted away from his legs. "Are you okay?" Demanding Voice asks impatiently, and Xiao Zhan opens his eyes to a somewhat distracting close-up view of bruised knees and baggy shorts, since Demanding Voice Person has decided to crouch next to Xiao Zhan's head. </p><p>"I'm fine," Xiao Zhan says meekly. He is. Mortified, but fine.</p><p>"How do you know? You haven't even tried to move yet." Demanding Voice sounds affronted, and Xiao Zhan sighs.</p><p>"I'm thinking about it," he says. But Demanding Voice Person has a valid point, so Xiao Zhan gives in and sits up. </p><p>Which, sadly, makes it clear that not only is he fine (and mortified), he has also accumulated a nice set of bruises. And a scrape on the palm of his hand. And a rip in his jeans, just above the knee. Oh, and a little blood there, too.</p><p>It's not until he takes off his helmet (and Yu Bin had said he wouldn't need one, it was safe! Yu Bin's an <i>ass</i>) that he realizes Demanding Voice Person is still crouching beside him. </p><p>"Really, I'm okay," he says, turning a little to get a look at the guy's (wow, cute) face. "Thanks for helping with the bike."</p><p>He's expecting the automatic courtesy of "You're welcome" or "No problem," but what he gets is Demanding Voice Guy going freeze-frame with his mouth slightly open. He's <i>staring </i>at Xiao Zhan. It's a little weird.</p><p>"Um," Xiao Zhan starts, with a somewhat nervous laugh, after several long and silent moments of being pinned by that stare. He's not entirely sure where to go next, conversationally, but fortunately Demanding Voice Guy helps him out.</p><p>"Yibo," Demanding Voice Guy says, "I'm. Wang Yibo, I mean. Yibo. My name." He blushes.</p><p>"Xiao Zhan," Xiao Zhan replies on autopilot. Wow, Wang Yibo is cute, with his cute face and his cute floppy brown hair. His sudden awkwardness is cute – and understandable; he looks young (and cute!), and he probably hasn't had to come to the aid of too many terminally inept bicyclists yet in his life, so him feeling awkward is natural. </p><p>Xiao Zhan smiles encouragingly. "Thanks again for –"</p><p>"Cold water," Yibo blurts.</p><p>Xiao Zhan blinks.</p><p>"Your pants." Yibo gestures at Xiao Zhan's leg. His eyes don't leave Xiao Zhan's face. "Cold water will get the. The blood. Out."</p><p>"Okay, right. Thanks," Xiao Zhan says, slowly. So, a little weird, a lot cute, and also practical? Wang Yibo is an interesting person. Who is still staring at him. </p><p>"We should bandage your knee," Yibo says, "and your hand. I can help you." He suddenly looks more cheerful, and Xiao Zhan...well, frankly, he's feeling a bit nonplussed. Maybe he has a concussion, even though he was wearing a helmet like you're supposed to.</p><p>Or maybe it's just that he's never before been looked at the way Wang Yibo keeps looking at him. Wow. So intense. He should do something about that? Shouldn't he? De-escalate or something? </p><p>Right, that's what he should do. He waves his hand vaguely at Yibo and Yibo's intensity and smiles. "No need, really. I'm fine!" </p><p>Yibo's shaking his head. "You need to take care of yourself, okay? The cafe across the street, we can go there. You can clean up your hand and your knee in the restroom, and I'll go to the shop next door and get some antiseptic and some bandages."</p><p>...What?</p><p>Wang Yibo is surely the most earnest person Xiao Zhan has encountered during his 25 years on this planet, not to mention a big worrywart. Xiao Zhan opens his mouth to protest, but Yibo isn't done. "I'll buy you some tea or coffee or a Coke or something too, okay? I should've been more careful with my skateboard." He's still staring intensely at Xiao Zhan. Sort of hopefully, now.</p><p>The thing is, Xiao Zhan tries to be a good person. A nice person. He doesn't like to disappoint people, even when they're offering completely inexplicable beverages and (largely) inexplicable bandaids. So he says, "Okay," and watches in bemusement as Yibo lights up. "I have to take the bicycle and helmet back first, though," he adds. "I rented them from –"</p><p>"The place at the entrance to the park, right?" Yibo breaks in. "I know where it is; I'll take them back for you." He offers Xiao Zhan a hand and pulls him to his feet with surprising strength for such a skinny person. "I'll be faster. And anyway, you should rest." </p><p>He's herded Xiao Zhan to a nearby bench and (gently) pushed him down onto it before Xiao Zhan can even move the startled "I should <i>what, </i> now?" from his brain to his vocal chords. The glaring green skateboard gets set down (also gently) beside Xiao Zhan and Yibo beams down at the pair of them. "See, you've got my skateboard as a hostage. I'll be right back!"</p><p>He picks up the helmet by its strap and lets it dangle from one hand as he grabs Xiao Zhan's not-so-trusty bicycle, takes a few running steps pushing it along, and then... then he just... throws his leg over the seat and gets on. Without stopping. The bike is still moving and he gets on it without even <i>slowing down, </i>and that's just...</p><p>Really hot.</p><p>He watches Yibo and the bicycle disappear down the sidewalk at an impressive speed (Yibo's standing on the pedals, why is <i>that </i> so hot) and sighs. Yibo makes riding a bike look easy.</p><p>He's examining his scraped palm when he hears pounding feet approaching. Yibo, running so hard that when he reaches the bench he has to bend over and pant for a couple of moments. Yibo's still catching his breath as he says, with a wide smile, "I'm back – come on, let's go." He picks up his skateboard with one hand and offers the other to Xiao Zhan, who has every intention of getting up entirely on his own steam (he's not exactly decrepit, or even all that injured) –</p><p>– and then Yibo ducks his head shyly and says, "Xiao Zhan," also shyly, and sort of sweetly, and Xiao Zhan finds himself letting Yibo haul him to his feet (again; it's getting to be a habit).</p><p>Crossing the street to the cafe turns out to be something of an ordeal. Yibo...hovers. Okay, Xiao Zhan <i>is </i>limping – slightly – but Yibo's hand keeps fluttering an inch away from Xiao Zhan's elbow like he's afraid Xiao Zhan's going to keel over at any moment, and it's starting to make Xiao Zhan feel like he <i>might </i>keel over at any moment, and all in all, it's a relief when they part ways in front of the cafe. </p><p>He feels a little less relieved when he realizes, as he makes his way through the cafe to the restroom, that he almost misses Yibo hovering beside him. Not so much the hovering part, but, well. He's human. And Yibo is hella cute, hot, and, for some reason, interjecting himself into Xiao Zhan's afternoon. Determinedly. It's kind of flattering?</p><p>And also kind of weird. Xiao Zhan eyes his reflection in the mirror above the restroom sink. It's still the same old him; not bad looking, but nothing special. And he's sweaty. And his hair is all messy from the bicycle helmet. Yibo's a <i>lot </i>cuter than he is. </p><p>Also hotter. </p><p>And younger! </p><p>This is all completely ridiculous. Yibo's probably just feeling a misplaced sense of guilt about Xiao Zhan's inability to stay on his bicycle when a person riding a skateboard passes by. That makes sense. That's all it is.</p><p>And it's Xiao Zhan's responsibility to make sure he stops feeling guilty. He gives his reflection a firm nod as he tosses his used paper towels in the bin and heads out of the restroom.</p><p>There's no sign of Yibo yet, either inside the cafe or at one of the tables outside, so Xiao Zhan stops at the counter. He should buy their drinks, not Yibo, since the accident wasn't Yibo's fault. And he's older than Yibo, so he should pay anyway. </p><p>He chews his lip as he looks at the menu board. He has no idea what Yibo likes, of course, but it's a hot day and everybody enjoys a cold drink on a hot day, right? And if he gets an iced coffee and an iced green tea he can let Yibo choose which one he wants and he'll drink the other one. That should work.</p><p>He's just sitting down at one of the outside tables when Yibo shows up, his skateboard in one hand and a plastic bag in the other. His expression brightens when he spots Xiao Zhan. It falls a little when his gaze lands on the drinks. "Oh. I wanted to buy you..." he mumbles, almost under his breath, trailing off into silence.</p><p>Xiao Zhan gives him a reassuring smile. "It's my treat; you've been really kind. Oh, and I'll pay you for the bandages or whatever," he adds, gesturing at Yibo's plastic bag.</p><p>"No," Yibo says, frowning, "I don't want you to. But we should take care of your hand and your knee now." He delves into the bag and produces a tube of antiseptic ointment, an assortment of bandages of different sizes, a mysterious little jar, and a...knee wrap? </p><p>Xiao Zhan eyes it cautiously. "Yibo," he begins, "I don't think I need –"</p><p>"You were limping," Yibo says. There's a defiant tilt to his chin. </p><p>"Okay, okay," Xiao Zhan says hastily. "It's very...thoughtful of you. Thank you. I'll, um, put it on later." <i>Maybe, </i>but Yibo doesn't need to know that. </p><p>"Can I have your hand, Zhan-ge?" </p><p>Xiao Zhan's eyes snap to Yibo's face. The little gremlin is <i>smirking. </i></p><p>"Is it okay if I call you that?" Yibo doesn't give Xiao Zhan time to answer before he wipes the smirk off his face and says, earnestly, "We should take care of your hand."</p><p>Xiao Zhan holds his scraped palm out towards Yibo mostly in self defense; he's a little afraid of what tactics Yibo might adopt if he doesn't get his way about slapping some bandaids onto Xiao Zhan's still-oozing palm.</p><p>Yibo doesn't slap some bandaids onto Xiao Zhan's palm. What Yibo does is use his fingers (long fingers, big <i>hand, </i>wow) to rub the antiseptic ointment on very gently, then very gently smooth a large bandaid over it all. Then he pats Xiao Zhan's hand. Very. Gently. </p><p>"There," Yibo says, looking pleased with himself. "Okay, now we should do your knee."</p><p>Xiao Zhan shoves both his legs firmly underneath the table. Yibo is <i>not </i> getting his (big, gentle) hands on Xiao Zhan's partially naked <i>knee. </i></p><p>(Even if Xiao Zhan can so easily imagine the way those big, gentle hands would –</p><p>Whoa. Wang Yibo is a kid. An oddly sweet and weirdly intense <i>kid, </i>and Xiao Zhan needs to remember that, even in the privacy of his own mind.)</p><p>(...Even if the way Yibo is running his tongue over his bottom lip right now is making that nearly impossible.)</p><p>(Xiao Zhan is in trouble here, isn't he.)</p><p>"I'll do it myself," he says hastily and grabs the tube of ointment before Yibo can pick it up. He has to pull his leg out from underneath the table in order to deal with the scrape on his knee, and he can <i>feel </i>Yibo's eyes laser-tracking every movement he makes as he applies the ointment and sticks the bandaid on.</p><p>He looks up after fiddling with the rip in his jeans, trying to make the gap in the fabric look less obvious, and Yibo is watching him closely, just like he thought. Not only that; Yibo's got his lips pressed together and is rolling them around a little, like his tongue is doing interesting things inside his mouth. Remembering that Yibo is younger – maybe <i>too </i>young – isn't actually going so well.</p><p>The way he looks doesn't help. With a face like that he could be some kind of model. Or actor, even, with the way he can switch from being cute to bratty to sweet to kind of judgy to <i>hot </i>faster than Xiao Zhan can keep up.</p><p>The way he's looking at Xiao Zhan right now isn't helping, either, even if Xiao Zhan can't quite put a name to it. Well, he <i>can, </i>but surely he's wrong? Xiao Zhan is not the kind of person that kind of thing happens to. Super hot and (clearly) physically talented guys, younger or not, aren't into him. He's a nerd who works in a boring office, who has nerdy, if basically sweet, friends and an ever-growing collection of plushies. He's good at graphic design, karaoke, and petting cats; is a hard worker, tries to be a good son and a good citizen. None of that is very exciting. Xiao Zhan is okay with that. It's who he is.</p><p>Wang Yibo, on the other hand...</p><p>Mercifully, Yibo chooses that moment to stop being so distracting with his mouth, pushing the mysterious little jar across the table towards Xiao Zhan with yet another earnest expression on his face. "This is good for bruises."</p><p>Nobody could ever accuse Wang Yibo of not having an obsessive streak. "You look like you could use some of it yourself, then," Xiao Zhan suggests, because what's good for the goose should be good for the gander. </p><p>Yibo somehow manages to look simultaneously pleased (that Xiao Zhan noticed his bruises? his knees? what even is happening here?) and dismissive. "You got those bruises from skateboarding?" Xiao Zhan asks quickly, to get his mind back onto more solid ground.</p><p>Yibo shakes his head. "I might get bruises when I'm learning new tricks, but these are from dancing. I dance and do choreography and teach sometimes. Street dance."</p><p>"Wow, cool," Xiao Zhan says. "You can do tricks on your skateboard <i>and </i>you're a street dancer? With all those crazy moves? That's really cool."</p><p>He knows he sounds like the envious nerd he is, but Yibo doesn't seem to mind. He's almost preening, in fact. "I like to ski, too," Yibo adds. "And I'm learning to race motorcycles."</p><p>"Wow," Xiao Zhan says again, weakly. And adds, because he can't help himself, "Shouldn't you wear knee pads?"</p><p>Yibo shrugs. "They get in the way."</p><p>"And that's worth banging up your knees for? Kids these days," Xiao Zhan says, teasing a little in an attempt to get his balance back. "No sense of self preservation." </p><p>"Kids?" Yibo's voice goes up a notch. "What do you – you're not old!"</p><p>Xiao Zhan rolls his eyes. "I'm twenty-five. You're, what...eighteen?"</p><p>"Nineteen," Yibo says. He's very nearly pouting. "That's not much younger than you."</p><p>"Six years," Xiao Zhan protests.</p><p>Yibo gives Xiao Zhan a heated look that makes something flutter low in his belly. "Nobody would believe you're six years older than me, Zhan-ge. You don't look like it, you look really young. Anyway, six years doesn't matter." His stare gets even more intense. "I'm really mature."</p><p>Whoa. Suddenly Xiao Zhan is scrambling for solid ground again. He clears his throat. "So. Haha. Um. Skateboarding, racing motorcycles, dancing – is there anything you <i>don't </i>do?"</p><p>...which was probably a leading question, wasn't it. What the hell is he doing? What is <i>Yibo </i>trying to do? Xiao Zhan feels the urge to bury his face behind his hands.</p><p>Which he gives into ten stretched-out seconds later, after Yibo says, all too believably, "I don't give up."</p><p>Oh, God.</p><p>When all else fails, be polite. "It's, ah, really hot today," Xiao  Zhan says from behind his palms. "Are you thirsty? I bought green tea and coffee; pick whichever one you like. The ice is probably melting by now, though."</p><p>Yibo doesn't say anything. He continues to not say anything. Xiao Zhan reluctantly removes his hand from his face, and yes, Yibo is staring at him. And now he's wearing an expression that Xiao Zhan can only describe as fond.</p><p><i>Fond? </i> Oh, God.</p><p>"I'll get new ones," Yibo says, which Xiao Zhan is too bemused to process until Yibo's tossing an "I'll be right back" over his shoulder and disappearing into the cafe.</p><p><i>'I don't give up' </i>is still running on a (slightly hysterical) loop through Xiao Zhan's brain when Yibo comes back a few minutes later carrying two new drinks and a plate with four fancy pastries on it. The pastries look amazing. They also look like Xiao Zhan will have to double the length of his morning jogs for an entire week to make up for eating even the smallest one. </p><p>Yibo puts the plate down directly in front of Xiao Zhan. "Two of these have chocolate," he says. "Do you like chocolate? I can get you something else if you want. Just tell me what you want."</p><p>The eagerness in Yibo's voice is a little unnerving. "This is, this is good," Xiao Zhan manages to say through his continuing inner hysteria, "thank you." He picks up a pastry with trepidation – not because he isn't going to enjoy it in spite of the extra running it's going to cost him, but because it almost feels like the pastry is some kind of symbolic offering. </p><p>Which is ridiculous. Yibo just bought some pastries for them to share, that's all; Xiao Zhan's reading more into this than is really there. People misinterpret each other all the time: misinterpret what other people say, what other people do. He's jumping to conclusions like he's a lead character in a (very unlikely) rom-com. </p><p>He smiles at his folly and pushes the pastry plate towards Yibo. "Your turn," he says.</p><p>"I don't eat snacks," Yibo says dismissively and pushes the plate back towards Xiao Zhan. </p><p>Xiao Zhan chokes on his pastry. Jumping to conclusions it is, then. Oh, God.</p><p>He grabs the nearest drink and washes the offending bit of pastry down his throat. After another couple of sips he puts the plastic cup down with a sigh, wondering whether it's safe to attempt another bite of the (really good) pastry. Maybe Yibo will behave like an ordinary and unconfusing person for a few minutes, so Xiao Zhan can finish his pastry in peace?</p><p>The odds don't seem encouraging, unfortunately, especially in light of the worrying glint in Yibo's eyes as he looks down at Xiao Zhan's cup then back up at Xiao Zhan. And then Yibo says, his voice sly, "Is the tea good, Zhan-ge?" and picks up Xiao Zhan's cup and drinks from it.</p><p>Picks up <i>Xiao Zhan's cup </i>and drinks from it. And smirks. </p><p>He drinks from Xiao Zhan's cup and <i>smirks </i>about it.</p><p>Yibo sets the cup back down in front of Xiao Zhan and Xiao Zhan smacks him on his big, smug, tea-stealing hand.</p><p>The smug tea-stealing gremlin looks <i>delighted, and </i>Xiao Zhan's attempt to glare daggers at him only makes him look <i>more </i>delighted. He slaps at Xiao Zhan's forearm with glee, Xiao Zhan retaliates, and suddenly they're in the middle of a completely ridiculous slap-fight. </p><p>A slap-fight, like they're both silly kids. A <i>slap-fight. </i>Xiao Zhan starts to giggle.</p><p>Yibo starts laughing too, and he sounds so much like a creaky bullfrog that Xiao Zhan giggles until he can barely breathe. Yibo's got his head thrown back, laughing that croaking laugh; his shoulders are shaking and he's practically glowing, and Xiao Zhan... Xiao Zhan likes it. Likes the way Yibo's eyes are shining as his laughter tapers off to chuckles.</p><p>It's just, how does this make any sense? Any of it? Since the moment Xiao Zhan came face to face with Yibo's knees? Xiao Zhan closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. </p><p>He hears a very quiet "Aiyo" from across the table and opens his eyes to find Yibo looking at him...nervously? Yibo licks his lips and takes a deep breath of his own and says, "Zhan-ge, what do you like? To eat?" </p><p>To eat? Right now? Xiao Zhan's eyes drop involuntarily to the remaining pastry. (It's <i>really </i>good pastry; Yibo doesn't know what he's missing by not eating snacks. Which probably isn't the point, is it.)</p><p>"I mean, for dinner," Yibo goes on. "Or, or lunch. We could. I could take you out. To eat? Tonight? Or tomorrow. Or this week, or..." Now Yibo's biting his lip.</p><p>And running his tongue across his lip where he was just biting it. It doesn't actually look deliberate, but Xiao Zhan has a hard time peeling his gaze away from Yibo's mouth anyway. "Wang Yibo, are you asking me on a date?" he says.</p><p>Yibo swallows. (Xiao Zhan doesn't find the bob of his Adam's apple any easier to look away from than his mouth was.) "<i>Will </i>you go on a date with me, Zhan-ge?" Yibo asks.</p><p>He looks like he's holding his breath, waiting for Xiao Zhan to answer. Xiao Zhan doesn't have any idea how to answer. </p><p>Yibo's six years younger than Xiao Zhan is. That's one answer.</p><p>He's also... </p><p>There's something about him that...</p><p>Well, it probably wouldn't be a <i>boring </i>date. And that's a different answer entirely. Xiao Zhan frowns. </p><p>"Zhan-ge," Yibo says, "give me a chance. Please."</p><p>Maybe Xiao Zhan hasn't been taking enough chances lately; maybe he <i>wants </i>to take a chance on Yibo and see what happens. Maybe he wants to be the kind of person someone like Yibo can happen to.</p><p>Yibo's watching him like a hawk, practically vibrating with tension, and Xiao Zhan takes in some air. Why does it feel like agreeing to a date – a single date! one meal! nothing more! – would actually be accepting some kind of life-changing destiny? It's a little scary.</p><p>And maybe a little exhilarating. </p><p>Xiao Zhan nods. "I like hotpot," he says, and watches Yibo light up. </p><p>Maybe even a <i>lot </i>exhilarating? (Xiao Zhan isn't sure. But it looks like he's going to find out.)</p>
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